15 Katherine Paterson first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Sign of the Chrysanthemum (1973) to The Day of the Pelican (2009) across 7 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Katherine Paterson title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Katherine Paterson copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- The Sign of the Chrysanthemum — 1973 · Thomas Y. CrowellThomas Y. Crowell first edition, New York, 1973, illustrated by Peter Landa. First printing states no later-printing indication on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket carries the original price. This was Paterson's first published book. US Thomas Y. Crowell edition is the true first. Book-club editions are typically price-clipped or lack the printed jacket price and often show blind-stamp indent on rear board.
- Of Nightingales That Weep — 1974 · Thomas Y. CrowellThomas Y. Crowell first edition, New York, 1974, illustrated by Haru Wells. First printing indicated by absence of later-printing statement on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket carries the original price. US Thomas Y. Crowell edition is the true first. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price.
- The Master Puppeteer — 1975 · Thomas Y. CrowellThomas Y. Crowell first edition, New York, 1975, illustrated by Haru Wells. First printing shown by no later-printing statement on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket carries the original price and predates the National Book Award seal. Won the National Book Award (Children's Literature, awarded 1977). US Thomas Y. Crowell edition is the true first. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price; later jackets/reprints may add the award seal.
- Bridge to Terabithia — 1977 · Thomas Y. CrowellFirst edition: Thomas Y. Crowell 1977; first-issue dust jacket WITHOUT the Newbery Medal (won 1978), with its printed price; copyright page shows '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' or a code with no later-printing statement. US Crowell is the true first. The pre-Newbery jacket (no medal) marks the true first; relaunch jackets added the gold medal after 1978. Book-club editions add the Newbery Medal, drop the price, are smaller, and carry a board blind-stamp.
- The Great Gilly Hopkins — 1978 · Thomas Y. CrowellThomas Y. Crowell first edition, New York, 1978. First printing indicated on the copyright page. First-state dust jacket carries the original price and predates the Newbery Honor and National Book Award seals. A 1979 Newbery Honor book and National Book Award winner. US Thomas Y. Crowell edition is the true first; the first-state jacket predates the 1979 award seals. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price; later jackets add the Newbery Honor and/or National Book Award seals.
- Jacob Have I Loved — 1980 · Thomas Y. Crowell CompanyFirst edition published 1980 by Thomas Y. Crowell, New York. The first printing carries a 1 to 10 number line on the copyright page (a present 1 denotes the first printing). Red cloth-backed boards with dark endpapers; first-issue dust jacket carries the original price and no Newbery Award sticker. US true first edition (Thomas Y. Crowell, 1980). Awarded the Newbery Medal in 1981. A number line that does not include the 1 indicates a later printing; book-club editions typically lack a printed jacket price; jackets issued after the award add the Newbery sticker.
- Rebels of the Heavenly Kingdom — 1983 · Lodestar Books / E.P. DuttonLodestar Books / E.P. Dutton first edition, New York, 1983, with first printing indicated on the copyright page. Bound in quarter yellow cloth over red paper boards with purple lettering to the spine, and red endpapers and pastedowns; collation runs to roughly 229 pages. The first-issue dust jacket carries art by Kinuko Craft and retains its original front-flap price on an unclipped copy. US Lodestar Books / E.P. Dutton edition is the true first. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price and the first-printing designation on the copyright page, and are often bound in plain boards rather than the quarter-cloth first binding.
- Come Sing, Jimmy Jo — 1985 · Lodestar Books / E.P. DuttonLodestar Books / E.P. Dutton first edition, New York, 1985. First printing indicated on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket carries the original price. US Lodestar Books / E.P. Dutton edition is the true first. Book-club editions typically lack the printed jacket price.
- Park's Quest — 1988 · Lodestar BooksTrue first is the US Lodestar Books/E.P. Dutton hardcover of 1988. On a first printing the copyright-page number line runs down to 1 (Dutton convention), and the dust jacket carries its original printed price. Confirm the Lodestar/Dutton imprint and the number line ending in 1. US Lodestar Books/E.P. Dutton edition is the true first; Paterson is American and published first in the United States. A UK edition also appeared but is not the first. Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price and typically lack the full number line; do not mistake a clipped trade jacket for a book club copy.
- Lyddie — 1991 · Lodestar BooksTrue first is the US Lodestar Books/E.P. Dutton hardcover of 1991. First printings show the copyright-page number line ending in 1 and a dust jacket with its original printed price. Confirm the Lodestar/Dutton imprint and the number line. US Lodestar Books/E.P. Dutton edition is the true first; published first in the United States. Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price and typically lack the full number line.
- Flip-Flop Girl — 1994 · Lodestar BooksTrue first is the US Lodestar Books/Dutton Children's Books hardcover of 1994 (quarter cloth over paper-covered boards). First printings show the copyright-page number line ending in 1 and a jacket with its original printed price. Confirm the Lodestar/Dutton imprint and number line. US Lodestar Books/Dutton edition is the true first; published first in the United States. Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price and typically lack the full number line.
- Jip: His Story — 1996 · Lodestar BooksTrue first is the US Lodestar Books/Dutton Children's Books hardcover of 1996. First printings show the copyright-page number line ending in 1 and a jacket with its original printed price. Confirm the Lodestar/Dutton imprint and number line. Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. US Lodestar Books/Dutton edition is the true first; published first in the United States. Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price and typically lack the full number line.
- The Same Stuff as Stars — 2002 · Clarion BooksTrue first is the US Clarion Books hardcover of 2002. On a first printing the copyright-page number line runs down to 1 (Houghton Mifflin/Clarion convention) and the dust jacket carries its original printed price. Confirm the Clarion imprint and the number line. US Clarion Books edition is the true first; published first in the United States. Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price and typically lack the full number line.
- Bread and Roses, Too — 2006 · Clarion BooksTrue first is the US Clarion Books hardcover of 2006. On a first printing the copyright-page number line runs down to 1 and the dust jacket carries its original printed price. Confirm the Clarion imprint and the number line. US Clarion Books edition is the true first; published first in the United States. Book-club editions lack a printed jacket price and typically lack the full number line.
- The Day of the Pelican — 2009 · Clarion BooksClarion Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) first, 2009. First printing carries a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page; first-issue jacket bears the original price. ISBN 978-0-547-18188-2. US Clarion first edition. Written by an American author and first published in the US, so the Clarion printing is the true first; there is no competing prior UK or Canadian edition. Later reprints and any book-club or paperback issues will lack the number line ending in 1 and may lack the original jacket price.
More Children's & YA shelves: Kwame Alexander, L. Frank Baum, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler), Lloyd Alexander, Lois Lowry.
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